Short Overview:
The
tessen was one of the more inconspicuous
weapons of the
samurai, and was mainly used for
ceremony (
etiquette and troop direction during times of
war), and was especially popular during the
Edo period of
Japanese history. It was a fan worn in the
belt (
obi) or held in the hands, and could be used as a weapon of
self-defense as instead of being a soft fan, it had strong,
iron ribs. The choice of shaping was one of interest, as it appeared entirely passive, yet many recorded
duels feature
warriors winning a duel against a
sword using only a
tessen for defense. Also, a samurai avoided disgracing his sword (eg
katana), by killing a "lower" person with the
tessen - also, the use of a
tessen was considered a sophisticated form of martial arts (especially to samurai of superior rank), so many samurai used the tessen as their defense weapon of choice. During the
Tokugawa period, especially,
martial arts schools (
ryuha) trained warriors in the use of inconspicuous short/side arms specifically designed for defensive use, such as the
tessen.
History, Legends and Development of the Tessen:
When apparently disarmed, sometimes a samurai could still strike with a weapon. The need for
concealed weapons has always been a cause of concern for warriors worldwide throughout history, and one of the concealed weapons developed in feudal Japan was the tessen. Based upon the folding
fan (
sensu) that was a common accessory of the day, the
tessen (literally "iron fan") evolved into not just a ceremonial possession, but also one of defense. Thus, a person carrying a fan was unremarkable, especially for one who needed it for etiquette purposes, such as the samurai.
One example of such etiquette was upon entering either the house or room of a higher-ranked person, in which case the person of lower rank would
kneel, and place the fan on the ground before them, horizontal to the knees. The person would then place their hands flat on the
tatami (with their fingertips a little before the fan, which lay a short distance before them again) and would then perform a bow to the depth required by the senior person's rank. According to one of the sources that I have used for this node, a
tessen saved a man's life, as part of this custom. An
official had made a fault, and was due to be reprimanded by his lord (in this case, the
penalty was death). As the official made his bow in the doorway, he placed his
tessen into the groove of the
sliding doors, and this instinctive movement saved his life - the lord's men had planned to kill the official by slamming his neck in between a pair of sliding doors as he made his
bow of greeting, but the plan was foiled by the steel ribs of the tessen, which deflected the doorway strike. After this stroke of luck, the
lord had no choice but to
save face by dismissing the official.
Also, the
tessen was perfect for when a samurai was
disarmed. This occurred much more frequently than in
action movies - when performing daily
chores around the house, relaxing or meeting those of higher rank, a samurai would often have no more weapons upon them than the simple
tessen. It was considered polite to disarm (leaving swords with a door attendant) when visiting, or in the company of a superior, but a
tessen was overlooked during this disarming. Similarly, when visiting a pleasure district of the time (such as
Yoshiwara in
Edo), a visitor was required to disarm, including not just swords but also any
daggers or
spears, yet once more the tessen was overlooked.
Tessen were sometimes also simply shaped like a folded fan, but could not actually be opened - this solid, cheaper, more durable type of fan became favoured by many of the samurai, and was made of either
wood or iron. The ancestor of the
tessen was a solid, vaguely round fan named a
gunbei-uchiwa which was used by battlefield officers to signal their troops (a modern-day equivalent might be seen in
Spirited Away, in which fans are used to coordinate a team effort). A descendent of the
gunbei-uchiwa, the
gunsen (a war fan which folded) was the first fan to be used for both
attack and
defense. Finally, the
tessen-proper evolved, generally comprising eight to ten metal ribs, and given everyday use.
Again, according to my sources, there are many
legends involving
tessen-jitsu.
Yohsitsune, a hero of
Japanese sagas, suposedly learnt of the use of the tessen, and
swordsmanship, from the
tengu, legendary beings who were supremely talented at martial arts. Also, the
Yagya ryu (
kendo instructors to the
Tokugawa shogun) were renowned for their skilled use of the
tessen. Another famous user of the iron fan was a
sixteenth century swordsman,
Ganryu. Using only his
tessen, Ganryu defeated several armed opponents - on a single occasion!
Styles, Decoration and Practice:
Tessen were traditionally made in three basic styles, and averaged at one
shaku in length (about a centimetre more than a
foot long). These three basic shapes are as follows:
- sensu-gata - a simply styled folding fan
- maiohgi-gata - a traditional arts version of the fan, used for kabuki plays and traditional Japanese dancing
- gunsen-gata - the military version of the fan, used to control troops on the battlefield
Another name given to the
tessen was the
menhari-gata. The
tessen comprised eight to ten metal ribs which were then covered with
silk or
washi (a very strong type of
paper), and folded closed. The paper used in the fan was often
lacquered, reinforced with
metallic foil (such as
gold or
silver), or treated with
oil (for
water-proofing). In this way, the
tessen became both an object of beauty, and was less susceptible to damage from the elements. Sometimes, only the outer ribs of the
tessen were made of iron, and the inner ones instead were formed from
bamboo strips, giving the fan an advantage of being both lighter (and easier to carry) and more flexible, but were only able to be utilised as a weapon when closed. On the other hand, the fully-metal
tessen could jab (and to a lesser extent, slash, I believe) and also be used simply as a fan. The term
tessen generally referred to the folding type of defensive fan. Other than the more
expensive and difficult to maintain folding fan, the solid
tessen (called most frequently the
tehnarashi-gata) were heavy. Some were straight-edged, while others were detailed to seem like a fan under a quick inspecting glance. These fans were considered more effective for
combat, and became popular especially for two classes of officials - samurai
police officers, and their non-samurai assistants. These officials used the
tessen along with a iron
truncheon named a
jutte to disarm and arrest trouble-makers. Incidentally, the
jutte was also the
badge of office for these people.
Another form of the solid
tessen was the
motsu-shaku, which was carved from
sunuke or
oak wood. These had the advantage of being both easy and inexpensive to make, and were also advantageous to the user in that they were light and easy to carry or wear. These were often used for practice, and also for self-protection.
In order to seem more fan-like, and appropriate for ceremonial work,
tessen were often decorated. All styles of the fan weapons could be decorated, and often were engraved with a selection of decorative features, such as
poetry,
rank titles, pictures of animals or symbolic
kanji (
characters). At times, similar to a bladed weapon, a fancy silk cord wrapping was used as a handle (which would undoubtedly have given the
tessen better grip). Naturally, many of the
tessen were simple and designed to be purely functional, and were thus undecorated.
Tessen-jutsu was considered a part of the classical Japanese martial arts, although it was intended first and foremost for self-defense. The techniques developed for useage of the
tessen were not aggressive, but more defensive reactions to an attacker. The focus of
tessen use was to
restrain or
incapacitate an opponent (the
tessen, for obvious reasons, would be a poor choice of weapon against several opponents), and rarely was used to kill or permanently injure the other
duelist.
And yes, you can buy
replica tessen online, if you feel so inclined...
Sources:
http://www.indiana.edu/~ealc100/Group19/weaponry.html
http://www.e-budokai.com/articles/weapons.htm
http://www.wdob.net/mai/weapons/fan/fanshistory.php
I couldn't find much information on tessen, but if you find errors or additional information, please let me know, as I do not read/write Japanese myself. Thanks.
NB: Italicised terms are only those which I think are not commonly understood within the English language.